Wild-Flames game preview: Sammy Walker recalled from Iowa, Vinni Lettieri goes to IR
Sarah McLellan's analysis: With goalie Filip Gustavsson sidelined, the Wild will rely on veteran Marc-Andre Fleury, but have to rebound from two losses to the Jets.
January 2, 2024 at 7:34PM
vs. Calgary Flames, Xcel Energy Center, 7 p.m. Tuesday
TV; radio: BSN; 100.3 FM
Stats and analytics: Tap here.
Sarah McLellan's preview:
Lineup update: The Wild called up Sammy Walker from Iowa of the AHL and put another forward, Vinni Lettieri, on injured reserve Tuesday because of a lower-body injury. Walker, a former Gophers captain from Edina, has five goals in 28 games at Iowa, and has played in two games this season for the Wild. Wild coach John Hynes said at morning skate that winger Marcus Foligno was questionable because of a lingering injury.
Tuesday news: Ryan Hartman of the Wild was fined $4,427.08, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for high-sticking Winnipeg's Cole Perfetti during Sunday's game at Xcel Energy Center.
Opening bell: The adversity facing the Wild keeps intensifying. They've had more players get injured, and now they're coming off a weekend sweep by the rival Jets that widened Winnipeg's lead over the Wild (16-15-4) to 12 points. The Flames arrive in St. Paul after ditching their own two-game losing streak with a 4-3 win vs. the Flyers on Sunday night. Calgary (15-16-5) is 4-4-2 in its last 10 games.
Watch him: Wild LW Marcus Johansson is among the players who have stepped up while the team has been dealing with injuries. Johansson is at a point-per-game pace over his last 11 games, scoring three goals in that stretch. Before then, Johansson had one goal and eight assists in the first 24 games of the season.
Injuries: Wild D Jonas Brodin (upper body), G Filip Gustavsson (lower body), LW Kirill Kaprizov (upper body), RW Vinni Lettieri (lower body) and RW Mats Zuccarello (upper body). Flames D Oliver Kylington (personal) and LW Jakob Pelletier (upper body).
Forecast: The Wild have had the upper hand in this matchup lately, and Gustavsson is a big reason. He's undefeated against the Flames this season (2-0), and the goalie is 5-0-1 in his career vs. Calgary. But he's sidelined, and the Wild will need find a different spark in their circumstances. This is only the second time they've dropped consecutive games under Hynes, and their last loss snapped their seven-game win streak at home. Plus, Fleury could have another chance at history. That might be all the motivation the Wild need to hit the reset button.
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Alex Ovechkin has a broken left fibula and is expected to be out four to six weeks, an injury that pauses the Washington Capitals superstar captain’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career goals record.
